


Sunshine on the Water

by flowerfan



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Boating, Canon-Compliant, Caribbean Island, Established Relationship, Honeymoon, Love, M/M, Swimming, s07e01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28777323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerfan/pseuds/flowerfan
Summary: It’s their honeymoon and everything is going swimmingly, at least until David discovers that even his unflappable husband gets nervous sometimes.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 53
Kudos: 153
Collections: Schitt's Creek Season 7





	Sunshine on the Water

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [theclaravoyant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theclaravoyant/pseuds/theclaravoyant) in the [SCSeason7](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/SCSeason7) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> 7x01 - Patrick may be a take-charge guy, but he's not entirely unflappable. What happens when a seemingly innocuous honeymoon activity (perhaps a hot air balloon ride?) turns out to be something Patrick hates and/or fears?
> 
> ***  
> Author's note #1: I admit I struggled with whether to give away what Patrick gets nervous about in the summary… I chose not to. But I promise it’s not that bad.
> 
> Author's note #2: Thanks for this amazing prompt, to the mods for organizing this fest, and to my wonderful beta perry_avenue!

It’s their honeymoon, and so far, it’s going swimmingly. 

David is thrilled with the resort. The tiny Caribbean island is gorgeous, even if it took forever to get there. The hotel is, too – and because it has taken a beating from recent hurricanes, they got their room at a discount. The fact that there are only two restaurants instead of four doesn’t matter to David, especially since they get room service as often as possible.

They spend their first full day of the trip exploring the island. David doesn’t mind giving in to Patrick’s request to rent a Jeep, especially when it becomes clear how happy it makes him. While David is less than thrilled with what riding around with the top down does to his hair, it is worth it to see Patrick’s pale skin take on some color (and give David a chance to rub aloe all over his husband’s body later that night). The bugs in the rainforest aren’t ideal, but they don’t seem to follow them back to the hotel, so David counts it as a win.

The next day David wakes up earlier than usual, full of anticipation and nervous energy. Today was David’s day to plan. As such, there will be no dirt, no bugs, and no hiking. They’re going on a semi-private speedboat tour of the island, which promises trips to secret beaches, unparalleled snorkeling, and free flowing drinks and food. The boat only takes four passengers at a time, and the company has received top reviews online. David has been looking forward to it for weeks.

He leans over and presses a kiss to Patrick’s bare shoulder, sliding his hand under the blanket to scratch at Patrick’s stomach. Patrick shifts and rolls towards him, eyes still closed, hands reaching for David’s body.

“Morning, husband,” David whispers into the soft skin behind Patrick’s ear. It’s not something he’s used to saying, yet, but it feels safe to say it here, under the covers with Patrick.

“Mmmph,” Patrick replies, and David snorts into Patrick’s hair. It’s rare for Patrick to sleep in, and even more unusual for David to be the first one to wake up. He’s learning a lot about his husband on this trip, including that late night honeymoon sex apparently turns Patrick into a sloth.

“As much as I’d like to take advantage of this,” David says, sweeping a hand up and down Patrick’s naked flank, “we have to be ready by 9:30. And I’m thinking you’d like some breakfast first.”

Patrick stretches, his toes brushing against David’s feet, and flops onto his back. “Don’t you mean you’d like some breakfast first?”

“You didn’t seem to mind the pancakes yesterday.”

“If by ‘pancakes’ you mean ‘blow job’ then sure, I’ll have breakfast.”

“Very funny. More banana coconut pancakes for me.”

Patrick rubs his nose against David’s shoulder. “Okay fine, I’ll eat. Get some of that mango again?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” David slides out of bed and picks up the room service menu. By the time he has finished placing their order, Patrick is in the shower. David contemplates joining him, but they really don’t have much time. Instead, he sorts through their luggage and sets out their new swim trunks. They were a gift from Alexis, and while this had the potential to be a disaster, she actually did a nice job – David’s are Dolce & Gabbana, black with a narrow white stripe down the side, and Patrick’s are similar but in royal blue. David pairs his with a black long-sleeved swim shirt, and selects a new white t-shirt for Patrick. 

Patrick quirks an eyebrow at him when he sees the clothes laid out on the bed. “Oh, so you’re dressing me now?”

David takes it in stride, handing Patrick his tea, already prepared just the way he likes it. “Just for today. I’ve taken care of everything.” He glances at his phone. “We need to leave here in an hour and forty-five minutes.”

“I think that’s enough time for me to get dressed.”

“Yes, but I need to shower, and then we need to take care of your skin,” David waves his hand at Patrick. 

“I thought you liked me like this,” Patrick says, smiling as he shimmies a little, showing off the beginnings of a tan.

“Sun-kissed, yes. Burned enough to ruin our week, no.”

When David emerges from the bathroom, having decided to do his hair even though it’s just going to get wet later – he plans on getting some nice photos before he gets in the water – their food has arrived. Patrick is sitting out on the lanai, eating pancakes and fruit and looking tastier than anything on the table. The white shirt is a nice contrast to his burgeoning tan, and it’s a slim fit that hugs Patrick’s chest just right.

“Hello,” David says, squeezing Patrick’s shoulder and kissing his cheek as he sits down. “How are the pancakes?”

“Just as good as yesterday,” Patrick says. “Here, try them.” Patrick holds out his fork, and David takes the bite. 

They trade bites of pancake and fruit and finish getting ready to go. Patrick is all smiles as they head out of the hotel on to the beach. David leads them past the lounge chairs and umbrellas, the infinity pool and the hot tubs, and around a bend to a small dock.

He’s pleased to see that the speedboat is waiting, a tall woman holding a clipboard standing nearby.

“The Rose-Brewers, checking in,” David chirps at her. She’s wearing a windbreaker and shorts, with dark sunglasses and a ball cap perched over a blond ponytail, and she smiles at them as they approach. “Are you Marni?”

The Tripadvisor reviews had raved about Captain Marni, and while her employees also got decent write-ups, David had made sure that they were going to be on Marni’s boat.

“I am. David, Patrick, welcome aboard.”

David glances at Patrick, ready to share his glee at Marni’s already high level of customer service – she called them by name, which is an excellent way to build loyalty – but Patrick doesn’t seem to appreciate it.

When the other couple arrive – two sisters, taking a girls’ trip to celebrate the younger one’s fortieth birthday – Marni gives them a quick safety talk and then suggests they settle in for the ride to the first stop on the tour.

The boat has a central console with the steering wheel and related engine controls, a few seats aft of the center, and long, cushioned bench seats along both sides of the boat leading up to the bow. David and Patrick are sitting on one side, the two sisters on the other, as Marni suggested that the views were better up front.

David guides Patrick to sit in front of him, and then scoots up close, tucking his chin over Patrick’s shoulder as they look out over the sparkling water. Marni puts on a playlist of appropriately energetic pop music, and soon the boat picks up speed, crashing over the waves.

David loops an arm around Patrick’s waist. “Having fun?” he says into Patrick’s ear. Strangely, Patrick doesn’t respond, and David realizes that his husband’s muscles are taut and he’s hanging on to the railing for dear life.

David holds him tighter and leans in closer. “Patrick, you okay?” 

“I’ll be fine,” Patrick says. “Just getting used to it. There’s so much water.”

After about twenty minutes Marni slows the boat down as they approach a deserted shoreline. She explains that this beach can only be reached by boat, and it’s a favorite for snorkeling when the weather is right. Unfortunately, due to a recent windstorm she doesn’t think they’ll be able to see much today, but she urges them to go for a swim and explore the picture-perfect beach. When they return, she says with a grin, there will be a snack waiting for them.

Everyone agrees to put off snorkeling until their next stop, and Marni goes about anchoring the boat. Through it all, David keeps glancing at Patrick, trying to catch his eye and figure out just how badly he has screwed up their day. Because apparently, unbeknownst to David, Patrick doesn’t like boats. Or maybe water. Or maybe fish? He’s not sure, because despite having enthusiastically agreed to go on a honeymoon to a Caribbean island, Patrick seems decidedly unhappy with today’s outing.

The sisters chat with Marni and then jump off the side of the boat, splashing and laughing and then lazily doing some sort of side stroke thing towards the beach. David sees Marni looking at them quizzically, and he gives her a little shrug. 

“The water is seven to eight feet deep here,” Marni says casually. “And we’re not far from shore. After just a minute or two of swimming you should be able to touch the ground.” She goes to a locker in the rear section of the boat and pulls out some brightly colored pool noodles. “These can be fun to swim with, if you’d like to give them a try.” She leaves the pool noodles on the side of the boat and turns around, giving them the illusion of privacy.

David shifts, disengaging Patrick from where he’s plastered himself to David, and looks him in the eye. He puts a hand to his cheek, and Patrick squeezes his eyes closed. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asks softly. “I had no idea you didn’t like boats.”

“It’s not that,” Patrick says.

“Well, it must be something, otherwise this is a very unusual way of showing how excited you are.”

Patrick pushes his face into David’s hand. “I like boats fine. But I’ve only been boating on a lake, you know, when you can see the shore.”

“So, you’re nervous about being in the ocean?”

Patrick opens his eyes and looks at David. “I guess. It’s just… you don’t know what’s under there.”

David rubs Patrick’s back and wracks his brain for a way to fix this. The tour lasts most of day, and there’s no easy way back to their resort. Then something occurs to him that threatens to make his miscalculation even worse.

“Patrick, can you swim?”

Patrick sits up, affronted. Apparently this question has triggered his competitive side, which, all things considered, isn’t necessarily a bad thing right now. “Of course I can swim. I set a record for backstroke at summer camp two years in a row. I was a junior lifeguard!”

“All right, then, show-off, will you swim with me to the beach?”

Patrick glances back and forth from the shoreline – a lovely bend of pristine looking sand, dotted with rocks and tufts of greenery and the occasionally scrubby looking tree – to David, and nods, his face determined. “Yes.”

“Okay, first things first,” David says, digging around in his bag for the sunscreen. He puts a little on his fingers and proceeds to smooth it into Patrick’s skin, starting with his face. Patrick closes his eyes and leans into David’s touch, but he doesn’t relax the way he usually does with David’s hands on him, even after he strips off his t-shirt and David gives his shoulders and back an extra coat of lotion.

“I’ll be right with you, okay?” David says softly into Patrick’s ear. “I promise. I won’t leave you.”

“I guess you’ve done this kind of thing a lot, huh,” Patrick says, a little dejected.

“What, give my new husband a panic attack?” David says lightly, rubbing sunscreen carefully over the back of Patrick’s neck. 

Patrick huffs out a laugh, and David takes Patrick’s hand and squirts some sunscreen into it. “Do me,” he says, taking off his sunglasses. 

Patrick looks at David for a long moment, no doubt remembering that David has been applying sunscreen to his own face about every fifteen minutes since they left the room. But he complies, his deft fingers lightly skimming David’s cheekbones.

“I’ve probably been swimming in every body of water available to people with time on their hands and money to spend,” David says, “including spots just like this. But I’ve never been swimming with you.” He blinks open his eyes, finding Patrick looking right back. “Shall we?”

Patrick nods, and they get up, moving to the back of the boat where there’s a swim platform and a short ladder that’s been flipped into the water. David grabs two of the noodles – pink and yellow – and slides into the waves, staying close with the noodles under his arm and one hand on the ladder.

Patrick looks around one more time, and then turns to face the boat, climbing slowly down the ladder. He pauses at the bottom rung – it’s not really enough to get him all the way in. David moves so that he’s at Patrick’s back, arms on either side of him. “The water’s nice,” he says. “It feels great.”

And it’s true – there’s nothing like this at home. The water is inviting and warm, a tantalizing shade of blue, and so clear that you can see straight down to the sand. 

Patrick looks over his shoulder at David, presses his lips together, and then seems to make up his mind. He takes the pink noodle from David and pushes himself off the ladder, landing in the water with a small splash. David tucks his yellow noodle under his chest and follows Patrick, who is determinedly heading for shore.

Patrick realizes that he can touch the ground when they’re about 15 meters away from the boat, and he slows down, bouncing on his toes. David pulls up next to him, floating on his stomach with the noodle under his chest.

“It is pretty nice,” Patrick says, taking a deep breath. “It’s easier to float.”

David nods. “Salt water is more buoyant than fresh water.”

“I knew that but…” Patrick splashes closer to David, then twists around until he’s mirroring David’s floating position, “it’s neat to feel it.” He ducks his head under the water and swims around, then comes back up. “I can see those little fish, with the yellow stripes. It’s so clear.”

David ducks underwater too, keeping one hand on the float so he doesn’t lose it. It’s nothing compared to some of the snorkeling sites he’s been to, but if you haven’t seen it before, it’s still pretty impressive.

Patrick pushes David’s hair off his face when he comes up and stays next to him, one hand on his shoulder. “There aren’t any sharks, though, right?”

“I don’t think Marni would take us anywhere with sharks.” Marni had given them a little talk about reef safety and things to avoid, but David doesn’t see anything to make him worried - no jellyfish, no horseshoe crabs, nothing but tiny harmless fish darting about in the crystalline water.

They play around for a little while, experimenting with the pool noodles in different positions. Patrick sits on his, balancing carefully. David is tempted to shove him off, but decides against it, instead tugging him close and enjoying the way they float together in the water, arms entwined. 

After a few more minutes they make their way to the beach. The sugar-white sand is warm from the sun, and feels fantastic under David’s toes. Except for the two women from their tour, who are exploring the far end of the beach, and another small motorboat out in the bay, there’s no one else in sight. David plops himself down at the edge of the water where he can dig his fingers into the wet sand. Patrick sits down next to him, then, with a long exhale, lies down on his back, his face up to the turquoise sky.

“You okay?” David leans over to press a kiss into Patrick’s salty skin, just on the top of his shoulder, and Patrick tilts his face to him, grinning. 

“Yeah. This is amazing.”

David feels a smile stretching his own face. He can’t help but lean in and kiss him right on the lips, all teeth and salt water and the warmth of his husband’s relieved happiness.

“So I don’t need to call my lawyer and tell him to get started on those divorce papers?” David asks, nipping at Patrick’s bottom lip.

“Um, no, definitely not.” Patrick wraps an arm around David’s back and pulls him in close. They make out lazily on the sand, tasting like sunscreen and salt and sweat, and it’s lovely. Then Patrick sits up, blinking as he opens his eyes in the bright sunlight. “David, you know I’m not mad at you, right?”

David shrugs, looking out towards where their boat is bobbing gently on the waves. “Sure.”

“No, really.” Patrick grabs a pool noodle from where it had been propped under his head and splashes the water with it. “You couldn’t have known I’d freak out about this. I didn’t even know.”

“Okay.”

“And besides, even if I was mad, that wouldn’t mean divorce. That’s not gonna happen. I love you. I’m not going anywhere.” 

Patrick’s voice is so sincere, without even a trace of troll. David leans his head back and squeezes his eyes shut, then opens them to meet Patrick’s gaze. It’s almost too much to take.

“I know.” And he does, he realizes. They’re in this together, and Patrick isn’t going to be angry at him for no reason. He’s not going to turn an everyday misunderstanding into a relationship-threatening drama, or nitpick David until he’s walking on eggshells. He’s not that person. David can trust him. “I love you too. So much.”

They fall together, David’s arms going around the back of Patrick’s neck and Patrick pulling David in with a hand on the small of his back. Patrick’s mouth opens for David, and they kiss heatedly.

“You look so good like this, David,” Patrick whispers, running his hand down David’s chest. His swim shirt is rather more form fitting than his usual knits, and in all his concern over Patrick, David had entirely forgotten to be self-conscious about it, or the state of his hair. It’s abundantly clear that Patrick has no complaints.

“Mmm, you too,” David replies, his brain shorting out as Patrick shoves him back into the sand and grinds down. 

“Can’t wait to get you back in our bed,” Patrick murmurs. Patrick’s hot tongue is tracing a pattern on David’s neck. He tries to give himself over to the feeling of Patrick all around him, solid and sure and hitting all of his buttons, but he can’t quite push away the fact that while they are on a practically deserted beach it isn’t _completely deserted,_ and with his head lying on the ground like this it would be horribly easy for an errant crab or tiny sea creature to crawl into his ear.

“Patrick?”

“Hmm?”

“While this is a delightful and unanticipated turn of events, I think we probably should save it for later.”

Patrick pauses, then sits up slowly, his fingers trailing over David’s arm as he looks around. Marni waves at them from the speedboat. The other passengers are already on board.

“Okay, yeah, you’re right.” Patrick shifts a little, adjusting himself, and then leans in to dart a quick kiss on David’s lips. “First one back gets the good snacks!”

Patrick is up and running into the water before David can even reply, and he gives himself a moment to admire the form of his beautiful husband, heading through the waves with even strokes. Then he realizes Patrick left him with both pool noodles. He grumbles as he stands up; he’s coated with sand all along his back, and his hair is full of it too. Sighing, David wades into the water and tries to wash off the sand. He glances up as Patrick whoops victoriously at him, hanging on the ladder and waving his arm in triumph.

David couldn’t be happier.

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the John Denver song _Sunshine On My Shoulders,_ because we could all use a little more sunshine right now. I hope this story brought a smile to your face!


End file.
